Sri Vishwesha Tirtharu, officially known as (27 April 1931 – 29 December 2019), was an Indian

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

guru Guru ( ; International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''guru'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian religions, Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: tr ...

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

and presiding swamiji of the Sri Pejavara Adokshaja Matha, one of the

Ashta Matha The Ashta Mathas of Udupi () are a group of eight ''mathas'' or Hindu monasteries established by Madhvacharya, the preceptor of the Dvaita school of Hindu thought with his direct disciples to be the first Swami, head of the matha. The Ashta ...

s belonging to the

Dvaita Dvaita Vedanta (); (originally known as Tattvavada; IAST: ''Tattvavāda''), is a sub-school in the Vedanta ''Vedanta'' (; , ), also known as ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six orthodox (Āstika and nāstika, ''āstika'') trad ...

school of philosophy founded by Sri

Madhvacharya Madhvacharya (; ; 1199–1278 CE or 1238–1317 CE), also known as Purna Prajna () and Ānanda Tīrtha, was an Indian philosopher, theologian and the chief proponent of the ''Dvaita'' (dualism) school of Vedanta. Madhva called his philosophy ...

. Sri Vishvesha Tirtharu was the 32nd in the lineage of the Pejavara matha, starting from Sri Adhokshaja Tirtharu, who was one of the direct disciples of Sri Madhvacharya. He was the honorary president of Vishva Tulu Sammelana. He had established

Poornaprajna Vidyapeetha Poornaprajna Vidyapeetha is a gurukula in Bangalore, that was founded by Vishwesha Teertha, Sri Vishwesha Teertha Swamiji of Pejawara Matha, Udupi in 1956. It is dedicated to the preservation and propagation of Indian philosophical texts. His ...

in Bangalore which has completed over 63 years. Many scholars are trained here on Vedanta. He has also conducted 38 Nyayasudamangalas - graduations for

students. He was awarded the

Padma Vibhushan The Padma Vibhushan ( , lit. "Lotus Grandeur") is the second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service". All persons w ...

India's second highest civilian award posthumously in 2020 for his work and service towards the society.

Life

Shri Vishvesha Tirtharu was born on 27 April 1931 in Ramakunja to a brahmin family and his pre-sannyasa name was Venkatramana. He was ordained into

sannyasa ''Sannyasa'' (), sometimes spelled ''sanyasa'', is the fourth stage within the Hinduism, Hindu system of four life stages known as ''ashrama (stage), ashramas'', the first three being ''brahmacharya'' (celibate student), ''Gṛhastha, grihast ...

at the young age of 7 years in 1938. His ''vidya guru'' is Shri Vidyamanya Tirtharu of Shri Bhandarkeri Math, and Shri Palimaru Math also. He appointed Shri Vishwaprasanna Tirtha as his successor sanyasi Swamiji of Shri Pejawar Math. On 29 December 2019, Sri Vishvesha Tirtharu bid farewell to this material world & left for spiritual abode.

Paryaya of Swamiji

The Swamiji assumed first

Paryaya Paryaya is a religious ritual which takes place every alternate year in Sri Krishna Matha (Krishna Temple) of Udupi. The puja and administration of Krishna Matha is distributed among the Swamijis (seer or monk or pontiff) of Ashta Matha's esta ...

, turn to worship Lord

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

Udupi Udupi () also known as 'Odipu' () is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the administrative headquarters of Udupi district, and one of the fastest-growing cities in Karnataka. Udupi is one of the top tourist attractions in Karnataka an ...

, at a young age. During his first

in 1954, he organized the All India Madhva Conference in Udupi. During his second Paryaya in 1968, he got the Badagumalige in Udupi repaired. During his third tenure as Paryaya Swamiji in 1984, he has got a new hall built at Udupi called Krishna Dhama. He has completed five Paryayas and only one to complete five Paryayas after Shri Vadiraja Swamiji of Sodhe Mutt. He started his fifth Paryaya on January 18, 2016 and completed it on January 18, 2018.

Social services of Swamiji

The swamiji was involved in various social service organisations, and is said to have started many educational and social service organisations. The Akhila Bharat Madhwa Maha Mandala ABMM center started by the Swami is said to have helped many poor students. He has established math centres at various holy places in India. These centres are of great help to many pilgrims. The Akhila Bharat Madhwa Maha Mandala BMMhas many hostels all over Karnataka at places like

Bengaluru Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

Hubli Hubli (officially Hubballi) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. The twin cities Hubli–Dharwad form the second largest city in the state by area and population and the largest city in North Karnataka. Hubli is in Dharwad district of ...

Dharwad Dharwad (), also known as Dharwar, is a city located in the northwestern part of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of the Dharwad district of Karnataka and forms a contiguous urban area with the city of Hubballi. It was merged ...

Kalaburgi Kalaburagi, formerly known as Gulbarga, is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka, It is headquarters of eponymous Kalaburagi district and Kalaburagi division, Kalaburagi city is governed by a Municipal Corporation, It is called a Sufi cit ...

Bagalkot Bagalkote, is a city in the state of Karnataka, India, which is also the headquarters of Bagalkot district. It is situated on branch of River Ghataprabha, The population of the urban agglomeration was 111,933"District Census Handbook – Guntu ...

to name a few. These hostels give preference to very-poor students and give them accommodation and food almost free. For normal students it charges a very nominal monthly charge to run its various activities. These hostels have the same feeling as Mutts as in the students start their daily activities with Vishnu Sahasranam in morning and then wearing traditional white dhoti during lunch and dinner. The food provided is of Satwik nature and so it doesn't consist of non-vegetarian foods, onions and garlic. He was strongly rooted in Brahmin causes such as protection of cow and played an active role in the Ramjanmabhoomi movement. Yet, he boldly organised Iftar for the Muslims during Ramzan at the ancient Sri Krishna math complex in Udupi. He advocated

Vishva Hindu Parishad Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) () is an Indian Right-wing politics, right-wing Hindu organisation based on Hindutva, Hindu nationalism. The VHP was founded in 1964 by M. S. Golwalkar and S. S. Apte in collaboration with Chinmayananda Saraswati, ...

(VHP) and was at the forefront in supporting the

Ram Janmabhoomi Ram Janmabhoomi () is the site that, according to Hindu religious beliefs, is the birthplace of Rama, the seventh avatar of the Hindu deity Vishnu. The Ramayana states that the location of Rama's birthplace is on the banks of the Sarayu rive ...

movement. He has also led the Go Raksha (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

: Cow protection) movement. Sri Vishvesha Tirtharu has ordained Sri Vishvaprasanna Tirtharu as his successor to the Pejavara matha in 1988. Sahasra Chandra Darshana Shanthi was celebrated for Sri Vishvesha Tirtha Swamiji in Tirumala kshetra on March 7, 2012 in the presence of several peethadipathis. His fourth tenure was in 2000 and his fifth tenure was in 2016. After

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...

's electoral victory and assumption of the office of

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Union Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers, despite the president of ...

, Sri Vishvesha Tirtha Swamiji called on him, and blessed him to serve the people with courage and compassion.

Illness and Death

Sri Vishwesha Teertha Swamiji was admitted to Manipal, Kasturba Medical College (KMC) Hospital on 20 December 2019 when Swamiji faced severe difficulty in breathing. The doctors reported blockage of lungs by dry cough and was supported by ventilators and other life supporting devices. On 27 December 2019, the doctors released a bulletin saying the seer's brain functioning was deteriorating. On the early morning of 29th December 2019, Swamiji was shifted to the

Pejawara Matha Pejavara Matha is one of the Ashta Mathas of Udupi, which was started by Sri Adhokshaja Tirtha, who was a direct disciple of Sri Madhvacharya, the founder of the Dvaita school of Hindu philosophy. Till date, 32 sanyasi pontiffs have headed this ...

as per the seer's desire of spending the last moments in the holy Mutt. On the same day of 29 December, Swamiji died. The chief minister,

B. S. Yediyurappa Bookanakere Siddalingappa Yediyurappa (born 27 February 1943), often referred to by his initials BSY, is an Indian politician. A member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), he has served as the Chief Minister of Karnataka, chief minister of ...

, announced three days of mourning throughout the state in respect to the seer's demise. Swamiji's mortal remains were kept in

for the devotees and later moved to national college grounds in

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

by a helicopter. With all the government honours and respects, Swamiji was buried in Vidyapeetha mutt,

Banashankari Banashankari, commonly abbreviated as BSK, is a locality spread across South and West Bangalore. Its name is derived from the Banashankari Amma Temple on Kanakapura Road, one of Bangalore's renowned temples constructed by Subramanya Shetty ...

and the burial ground is honorifically called "Brundavana".

References

Sri Pejavara Adhokshaja Matha

External links